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Contributor I
September 8, 2018
Answered

What Watt rms do Sonos have?

Does anyone know how many Watts rms sonos speakers have?
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    KumarAnswer
    September 8, 2018
    Speakers don't have watts as a relevant spec, which instead is how loud they can go, without distortion. Sonos does not provide a spec for this, but I never run my play units above 75% volume levels.

    25 replies

    KumarAnswer
    September 8, 2018
    Speakers don't have watts as a relevant spec, which instead is how loud they can go, without distortion. Sonos does not provide a spec for this, but I never run my play units above 75% volume levels.
    jgatie
    September 8, 2018
    The answer is . . . 42.
    LindebergAuthor
    Contributor I
    September 8, 2018
    42? In play1,3,5, or wich one?
    jgatie
    September 8, 2018
    None of them, it was a joke (Google 'Douglas Adams 42'). Kumar is correct, watts mean nothing in an all-in-one powered speaker because we don't know anything about the sensitivity of the speakers used, distortion level, frequency range/dropoff, etc. For example, you could have a 1000W amp driving extremely inefficient speakers bested in output by a 100W amp driving extremely efficient speakers. Therefore, watts mean nothing.
    Stanley_4
    Grand Maestro
    September 8, 2018
    I went back and looked to see if there were any good answers and I couldn't find anything.

    With Sonos gear containing multiple amplifiers per channel to multiple speakers and active equalization even trying to measure the power on your own would be an exercise in frustration.

    You could plug your Sonos into a power meter and note the idle power then blast a full frequency test tone through it and note the power used. Of course that might well destroy a speaker or two but if you really want to know... Figure 90% for efficiency and subtract the idle power and you'd likely get a rough estimate of the total amplifier power in a unit.
    LindebergAuthor
    Contributor I
    September 8, 2018
    Sonos must know? Do we know how Much the amp puts out in a play 5? Looking at an nad amp to power my outdoors speakers,
    https://www.hifiklubben.se/stereo/forstarkare/nad-ci-980-effektforstarkare/
    jgatie
    September 8, 2018
    The Connect:Amp is the only unit for which rating watts actually makes sense, which is why Sonos lists the wattage. It is rated at 55 W. The new model Amp coming out next February is rated at 125 W.

    For all other Sonos units (I'm going to make this quite clear) WATTS DO NOT MATTER!!!!!!

    Read this link:

    http://www.hifipage.com/why-wattage-does-not-matter-6/

    Note that is for separate amps and speakers. It matters even less for all-in-one powered speakers like Sonos.

    So stop asking about watts.
    Stanley_4
    Grand Maestro
    September 8, 2018
    Part of your problem is not understanding how Sonos speakers are built, which of the Six internal amps in the Play 5 are you considering using to power your external speakers? How are you going to bypass the internal crossovers that Sonos uses to deliver the proper frequencies to each internal amp and matching speaker. The Play series are all horrible choices to power external speakers and tearing them apart and modifying them for that will void the warranty and likely be fruitless in the end due to their nature.

    From the Play 5 product page: "Six Class-D digital amplifiers perfectly tuned to match the six dedicated speaker drivers and the acoustic architecture."

    If you want an amplifier to power your external speakers the Connect Amp would be the right choice, depending on the number of speakers you might need an impedance matching box or multiple Connect Amps.

    https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/connectamp.html

    When released the Sonos Amp might be better but it is not ready yet.

    https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/amp.html

    If you want to use an external amp (not Sonos) like the one you linked to then a Sonos Connect (not Connect Amp) is the way to go.

    https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/connect.html
    LindebergAuthor
    Contributor I
    September 8, 2018
    IF Watts do not Matter, why is the new amp on 125w insted of 55w?

    I an looking for like 6-8 speakers and one amp that sounds like 6-8 play5’s.

    Its outsoor... Thats why i wondering how the play5’s are, so i can compare some data?

    Its note the same to listen to ONE speaker in the shop as 6 to 8 of them in my garden.

    Regards Lindeberg
    Stanley_4
    Grand Maestro
    September 8, 2018
    You are still missing the key point:

    Watts do not matter to a Speaker.

    Watts do matter to an Amp.

    Are you seriously considering buying eight Play 5s, tearing them to pieces and trying to find a way to connect the mess you will have made with the six individual internal Play 5 amplifiers to an external speaker?

    The Play 5 is not waterproof, even before you rip it open to expose the internal components, it is not suitable to being left outside.